Pagina-afbeeldingen
PDF
ePub

may we remember that we have also reason | head may the crown flourish. Bless all the

for sorrow and humiliation. O give us that repentance which is unto life. Reform as well as indulge us; and pardon as well as spare. Let not our prosperity destroy us, nor our table become a snare. Let us not, by our perverse returns, provoke Thee to visit us with heavier inflictions; and turn the rod into a scorpion. May our ways please the Lord, that we may hope for a continuance of thy favour, and know that all things shall work together for our good.

Do good in thy good pleasure unto Zion. Build Thou the walls of Jerusalem. And as the churches have rest, may they walk in the fear of the Lord, and in the comforts of the Holy Ghost, and be multiplied.

Let the king live before Thee; and on his

branches of the royal house: preside over our national councils; impart wisdom to those who conduct our public affairs: and may all the various classes in the community pursue that righteousness which exalteth a nation, and forsake that sin which is a reproach to any people.

Regard the services in which we have been engaged with the thousands of our Israel: accept the poor and imperfect thanksgivings we have offered; and let thy word which has been dispensed in aid of the devotion of the day, accomplish all the good pleasure of thy goodness-through Jesus the Lord, our righteousness and strength; and in whose words we address Thee as

Our Father, &c. Amen.

PETITIONS

FOR

PARTICULAR OCCASION S.

FOR RAIN.

ARE there any of the vanities of the gentiles that can cause rain? Or can the heavens give showers? Art not Thou He, O

Lord our God? Therefore will we wait

upon Thee, for Thou hast made all these

things.

Thou visitest the earth and waterest it; Thou greatly enrichest it with the river of God which is full of water. Thou makest it soft with showers; Thou blessest the springs thereof. Thy paths drop fatness. They drop upon the pastures of the wilderness, and the little hills rejoice on every side.

We have been made to feel the worth of this blessing by the want of it; and it would be easy for Thee to continue the privation, till the heavens over us were brass, and the earth under us iron; and the husbandman be ashamed for the wheat, and for the barley, because the harvest of the field is perished, and because joy is withered away from the

sons of men.

But O deal not with us after our desert. Turn not a fruitful land into barrenness. Command thy rain to descend. Cause the grass to grow for the cattle, and herbs for the service of man, and bring forth food out of the earth.

FOR FAIR WEATHER. -How numberless are our wants and dangers! Our hopes are destroyed, not only by the deficiency, but the excess of our supplies. Stop, we pray Thee, the bottles of heaven, which have so long been pouring down water upon us; and cause thy sun not only to rise but to shine. Give us the clear shining after rain, that the earth may yield her increase in maturity, and opportunity be afforded for the wholesome in-gathering of grass for the cattle, and grain for the use of man; that there may be no complaining in our streets, but that we may eat in plenty, and be satisfied and praise the Lord.

And O let us not forget our souls, in our mindfulness of the body; nor expend all our concern upon the meat that perisheth, but be above all things anxious to secure the meat which endureth unto everlasting life, and which the son of man will give, for him hath

God the Father sealed.

IN VIEW OF JOURNEYING.

O God, thou hast called thyself the Preserver of men, and the length of our days. We are therefore encouraged to commit ourselves to thy guardian care, in the journey before us.

Many have parted with the hope of soon embracing each other again, but instead of returning to their own dwelling, they have been conveyed to the house appointed for all living. We pray, with submission to thy pleasure, that this may not be our experience. Give thine angels charge concerning us to keep us in all our ways. Let no evil befall our persons, and no plague come nigh our dwelling. May we know also that our tabernacle is in peace, and visit our habitation and not sin.

Yet uncertain what a day may bring forth, may we be prepared for every event of thy providence; and wherever, in dying, we go from, may it be our happiness to know where we are going to, and rejoice in the prospect, that when all our wanderings and partings are ended, we shall unite in our heavenly Father's house, and be for ever with the Lord.

FOR A NEW-MARRIED PARTY.

BLESS those who have just entered a state honourable in all. May they remember the vows they have left at the altar, and in the discharge of their personal and relative duty may they make their word their rule, that mercy and peace may be upon them. May the husband love his wife even as himself,

and the wife see that she reverence her husband; and both walk together as heirs of the grace of life, that their prayers be not hindered.

Preserve them from the evils which destroy, or diminish the welfare and comfort of the condition in which Thou hast placed them; and may they enjoy all the happiness derivable from prudence, temper, accommodation, real godliness, and the divine blessing. May they expect to discern infirmities in one another, but may they be always most deeply conscious of their own. And let them not look for unattainable, by looking for unmingled bliss on earth; but remember that this is not our rest, and be prepared for difficulties, trials, changes, and final separation.

only that we should part at death, but often separate in life. When absent from each other in body, may we be present in spirit; and may our natural affection be strengthened and sanctified by inquiry and correspondence, and divine remembrance at the throne of grace.

Regard the member of our family who is now leaving the parental roof and the parental wing. In all his ways may he acknowledge Thee, and be Thou the guide and the guard of his youth. Secure him from the paths of the destroyer and the evils of the world. May uprightness preserve him. In the situation he will be called to fill, may he be dutiful and obliging, and diligent and faithful. May he always remember that the eye of God is upon him; and be not only amiable but pious; and be in favour with God as well

FOR A WOMAN APPROACHING THE as man.
TIME OF TRAVAIL.

-REGARD thine handmaid, who is looking forward to an important hour. Be not Thou far from her when trouble is near. May her mind be kept in perfect peace, being stayed upon the God of her salvation. Bring to the birth, and give strength to bring forth. Soften the pains of labour, as well as command deliverance; and in due time may she remember no more her anguish, for joy that a child is born into the world. And may the root and the branch abide under the shadow of the Almighty.

FOR ONE UNDER SICKNESS.

-THINK, O God, for good upon the afflicted, especially him (or her) whom we now commend to thy compassionate regard. Comfort him upon the bed of languishing, and make all his bed in his sickness.

If the sickness be unto death, prepare him for the solemn event, and be with him in it. But we are allowed to implore deliverance, with submission; nothing is too hard for the Lord; Thou canst heal as well as wound: we therefore pray, if it be thy good pleasure, that Thou wilt put efficacy into the means, rebuke the disorder, renew the strength, and prolong the days of thy servant.

Above all, let the dispensation be sanctified to the sufferer, and his connexions; and may all have reason to acknowledge in the review, It is good for me that I have been af

flicted.

(If with a view to a School.)

-O THOU God of providence and grace, we commend to thy care the dear child about to leave our abode for a season in order to receive needful instruction. Let his (or her) life be precious in thy sight. May he redeem his time, and acquire the improvement that will fit him for usefulness in his day and generation. And O let him be made wise unto salvation; and let the beauty of the Lord our God be upon him; that he may be a useful and ornamental member in thy church below, and hereafter a pillar in thy temple above, never more to go out.

FOR A SERVANT COMING INTO
THE FAMILY.

-AND, O Thou, with whom there is no respect of persons, bless the servant that has just entered our household. May she (or he) be diligent in her station; may she rise early, be attentive to punctuality, and neatness, and cleanliness; pleasing well in all things, not answering again; not purloining, but showing all good fidelity; that she may adorn the doctrine of God our Saviour in all things. May she cheerfully conform to the religious order of the family, be thankful for its daily worship, and improve every spiritual privilege.

And while our servants know and observe their duty to us, may we never neglect our duty to them, but remember that we also have a Master in heaven.

FOR A YOUTH GOING FROM HOME. FOR CHILDREN IN ORDINARY CIR

(If with a view to Business.)

-O GOD, Thou appointest the bounds of our habitations, and arrangest all our individual concerns; and it is thy pleasure, not

CUMSTANCES.

(All the petitions need not be used at the same time.)

-O GOD, Thou art the lovely Father of

all mankind. Thou hast implanted in us the parental instincts; and commanded us to train up our children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. We feel our awful responsibility, and often exclaim, Who is sufficient for these things? But Thou givest wisdom to the ignorant and power to the faint. Aid, O aid us, in discharging the duties we owe to those whom Thou hast given us and continued to us.

We give them up to Thee, who art able to fulfil all our petitions. Rescue them from the numberless accidents and diseases to which they are exposed. Let their tempers be lovely, and meek, and kind. Let their manners be simple and engaging. May they be respectful towards their superiors, obliging towards their equals, and condescending towards their inferiors.

-Let not envy and pride and censoriousness render them disdainful to others and wretched to themselves. May they speak evil of no one. Upon their tongue may there dwell the law of kindness. May they hate and abhor lying—with all deceit and hypocrisy.

should be deprived of their father-be Thou the father of the fatherless. If they should be deprived of their mother-as one whom his mother comforteth, so do Thou comfort them.

-Should they be removed from us in early life, may the heavenly Shepherd gather the lambs with his arm, and carry them in his bosom; and may we be prepared to resign them. And if, as we submissively implore, their lives should be prolonged-may they grow up, and prove our comfort and honour, serve their generation according to thy will, and walk before Thee in the land of the living.

FOR CRIMINALS IN PRISON.

-BEHOLD, in the greatness of thy mercy, those who are bound in affliction and iron, because they rebelled against the word of evil of sin, in the degradation and misery to God. May they be led to reflect upon the which it has reduced them. Give them reledge that Thou art just in all that is brought pentance unto life; that they may acknowupon them, and be more concerned to obtain deliverance from the wrath to come, than exafter lengthened confinement they should be emption from the hand of civil justice. If released, let them be rescued from the bond

liberty of the sons of God; and if appointed unto death, O hear the sighing of the prisonthe spirit be saved in the day of the Lord er, and though the flesh be destroyed, let

-May they be always willing to receive instruction; and be diligent in acquiring all the knowledge and improvement that may render them the blessings and ornaments of society. -Keep them from evil company. If sin-age of corruption, and partake of the glorious ners entice them, may they never consent; but early may they take hold of the skirt of him that is a Jew, saying, I will go with you, for I have heard that God is with you. Jesus. -Let our sons be as plants grown up in While we feel an abhorrence of sin, may their youth, and our daughters as cornerstones, polished after the similitude of a and be thankful that we have been exempted, we always display compassion for sinners, palace. by the favourableness of our condition in life, by pious relations, by education, by thy restraining and thy sanctifying grace, from so many temptations by which we might have another? And what have we that we did not been conquered. Who made us to differ from

-Pour thy blessing upon our seed, and thy Spirit upon our offspring; that one may say, I am the Lord's, and another call himself by the name of Jacob, and another subscribe with his own hand, and surname himself by the name of Israel.

-We seek not great things for them as to this world-but O let them live in thy sight; let them be numbered with thy saints in glory everlasting; let them be blessed with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ.

receive?

FOR A FRIEND AT SEA.

-THE sea is thine as well as the dry land. All the elements obey thy voice. We commend to thy kind and almighty care, our Instead of multiplying riches, and leaving friend who is now on the perilous ocean. them incentives to pride, and vanity, and Give to the winds and the waves commandidleness, and sensuality, and augmenting a ment to save him. O Thou that art the conthousand fold all the difficulties of their sal-fidence of all the ends of the earth, and of vation-may we lay up for them treasure in heaven; may we be concerned to leave behind us a large inheritance of prayers and instructions and examples-with the blessing of God, that maketh rich, and addeth no sorrow with it.

-If their parents should be taken away from them-when father and mother forsake them, may the Lord take them up. If they

them that are far off upon the sea, encourage and tranquillize his mind by holy reliance on thy Providence. May he not only see, but improve the works of the Lord, and his wonders in the deep. And should the waters thereof roar and be troubled, and vain be the help of man, hear him in his distresses; make the storm a calm; and bring him to his desired haven,

ADDRESSES

FOR

PARTICULAR SEASONS

SPRING.

-THOU art the fountain of life. In Thee we live, move, and have our being; and the prerogative of that being is, that we are able to contemplate thy perfections, and rise from thy works to thyself.

When we walk by the cooling brook, may we think of that river the streams whereof make glad the city of God.

When we retire from the scorching warmth of the day into the inviting shade, may we be thankful for a rest at noon, a shelThou sendest forth thy Spirit, and renew-ter from the heat, the shadow of a great rock est the face of the earth; and from apparent in a weary land. death, all nature starts into re-animated vigour and joy. In what myriads of productions art Thou displaying afresh the wonders of thy wisdom, power, and goodness-the whole earth is full of thy riches.

While we partake of the general sympathy and delight, may we join with all thy works to praise Thee. And O Thou God of all grace, bless us with the renewing of the Holy Ghost in all the powers of our souls. May old things pass away, and all things become new in Christ. May the beauty of the Lord be upon us; and the joy of the Lord be our strength.

May the young remember that they are now in the spring of life, and that this spring once gone returns no more. May they therefore eagerly seize and zealously improve the short but all-important season, for the cultivation of their minds, the formation of their habits, the correction of their tempers, their preparation for future usefulness, and their gaining that good part which shall not be taken away from them.

SUMMER.

-WE hail Thee in the varying aspects of the year, and bless Thee for all their appropriate influences and advantages. O let us not view them and enjoy them as men only, but as Christians also; and ever connect with them the blessings of thy grace.

How wise and useful and necessary are these intermingled rains and sunbeams! May Jesus, as the Sun of Righteousness, arise upon us with healing under his wings; may he come down as rain upon the mown grass, and as showers that water the earth.

May thy servants behold the moral fields, that are already white unto harvest, and be all anxiety to save the multitudes that are perishing for lack of knowledge.

The harvest truly is great, but the labourers are few; we therefore pray that Thou wilt send forth labourers into thy harvest.

He that gathereth in summer is a wise son; he that sleepeth in harvest is a son that causeth shame. Now is our accepted time, now is our day of salvation. O let us not waste our precious privileges, and in a dying hour exclaim,-The harvest is past, the summer is ended, and we are not saved.

AUTUMN.

-How fleeting, as well as varying, are the seasons of the year! How insensibly have the months of spring and summer vanished! Nature has no sooner attained its maturities, than we behold its declension and decay. The fields are now shorn of their produce; the beauties of the garden are withered; the woods are changing their verdure, and the trees shedding their foliage-we also never continue in one stay. Many of our connexions and comforts have already dropped away from us; and the remaining are holden by a slender tenure-while we ourselves do all fade as a leaf-and in a little time our places will know us no more.

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, for the announcement of an inheritance that fadeth not away. O for a hope full of immortality-for a possession of that good part which shall not be taken away from us!

« VorigeDoorgaan »